Alwaght- Saudi Arabia has decided to cancel an order to purchase four warships from Turkey in the wake of a multi-billion arms purchase agreement with the US.
According to Turkish Hurriyet daily, a weapons manufacturing company known as Tuzla Shipyard that was to build Saudi warships will suffer heavy blow with many job opportunities being lost following the cancellation.
Ankara has been angered after Riyadh announced the cancellation of the deal centered on a four-ship order for the Saudi navy for $ 2 billion.
The Turkish daily noted that, the Riyadh has cancelled the deal following agreements signed with the United States to purchase weapons worth $ 110 at the first phase and $ 350 billion in ten years. The pact was signed recently in Riyadh between US president Donald Trump and the Saudi King Salman.
Saudi Arabia was Turkey’s 12th largest export and 22nd largest import partner in 2015. Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia in 2015 stood at $3.47 billion, whereas imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to $2.11 billion. The trade volume between the two countries reached $5.5 billion.
Turkey had been collaborating with Saudi Arabia in what was termed as a “national ship" project, which Ankara hoped to use as a stepping stone to become a leading global manufacturer of warships. Hurriyet daily criticized Saudi Arabia's decision to cancel the crucial orders saying Saudi rulers preferred the sword dance with Trump than friendship with Turkey.
But the signs of cooling relations between Ankara and Riyadh were conspicuous with the absence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the summit of Islamic leaders with Trump in the Saudi capital.
In addition, a tweet from Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Simsk following the announcement of the Saudi-American arms deal hinted at Turkey's disappointment. Simsk wrote that "if a small part of these sums were directed to reducing poverty and education, the world would be a safer place."
